Advancements in digital processing and mass storage technologies have had profound impact upon many facets of modern society. Collection of data and its subsequent processing has many business, and other, applications. Storage capacities of storage devices permit storage of seemingly, ever-increasing amounts of data and processing capabilities of processing devices, permit increasingly-large amounts of data. Large amounts of data, once collected and stored, are easily accessible, available for ready processing thereof.
While portable and desk top computers exhibit storage capabilities and processing capacities that, just a few years ago, would have seemed astounding, data-center, computing systems are of correspondingly increased capacities and capabilities. Data-center systems are sometimes constructed to include multiple processing units, typically capable of concurrent, i.e., parallel, operation. The processing units are configured as part of, or have access to, storage servers that maintain large amounts of data.
A data center is typically created at an enclosed area at which ambient conditions are controlled. The control includes temperature control to maintain the temperatures, or place the temperatures, within an acceptable range of temperatures.
The processing units generate heat energy as a by product of their operation. Cooling devices, referred to herein as chillers, are positioned within the data center and operated, when needed or desired, to dissipate heat energy, including the heat energy generated during operation of the processing units. Cooling places or maintains the data center temperature beneath a maximum temperature of the allowable temperature range. When a data center is of even moderate dimensions, multiple chillers are regularly utilized. Different ones of the chillers are independently triggered. That is to say, the chillers are sometimes independently operable, turned on and off independently, when needed, or no longer needed, respectively. A chiller is typically controlled by a controller that triggers the chiller responsive to detected temperature levels detected by one or more temperature sensors, e.g., thermocouples, thermometers, or the like. If, any, or any group, of sensors associated with a chiller indicate that chilling operations are required, the associated chiller is caused to provide cooling, either for a selected time period or until the temperature sensor or sensors indicate that cooling is no longer required.
Particularly when the data center is of large dimensions, there is sometimes a temperature variance in different parts of the data center. That is to say, the ambient conditions are heterogeneous, and sometimes, some areas of the data center require cooling while other areas of the data center are not in need of cooling. Separate chillers are associated with separate or non-identical groups of temperature sensors, thereby separately to be triggered responsive to temperatures sensed by the separate temperature sensors or groups of temperature sensors.
As noted, the processing units generate heat energy during their operation. When a processing task is performed at the processing unit, increased amounts of heat energy are generated as a by product of the operation of the processing unit to perform the processing task. The heat energy generated as a result of performance of a processing task at a processing unit, or performance of processing tasks at a group of processing units positioned in proximity to one another, increases the possibility that a set point of a temperature sensor in proximity to the processing unit or group of processing units shall be triggered, thereby causing a cooling controller to cause an associated chiller to perform cooling operations. If a processing task were, however, instead performed at a different processing unit, the increase in temperature at the localized area of the group of processing units might not otherwise result.
While processing units positioned at a data center are controlled by a controller with respect to assignation of processing tasks, existing controllers typically do not take into account temperature levels within the data center when making the assignations.
If a manner could be provided by which to take into account the temperature levels at the data center when making the processing-task assignations, improved data center operations would be possible. Improved distribution of heat energy generated during operation of the processing units would thereby be possible.
It is in light of this background information related to data center processing operations that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.